Swinging basket type of store service carrier



April 20, 1954 s, GOLDMAN 2,676,026

SWINGING BASKET TYPE OF STORE SERVICE CARRIER Filed Jan. 15, 1949 4 She ets-Sheet l J 9a,, W 3! j 1 I 1 I I i i I 28 50 5 4 56 2 l n 25 5 L s: Q

ATTOR N EY April 20, 1954 s, GQLDMAN 2,676,026

SWINGING BASKET TYPE OF STORE SERVICE CARRIER Filed Jan. 13, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Ap i 2 1954 s. N. GOLDMAN SWINGING BASKET TYPE OF STORE SERVICE CARRIER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 15, 1949 Hill!!! I; a ill ATTORNEY April 20, 1954 s. N. GOLDMAN 2,676,026

SWINGING BASKET TYPE OF STORE SERVICE CARRIER Filed Jan. 13, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Apr. 20, 1954 SWINGING BASKET TYPE OF STORE SERVICE CARRIER Sylvan N. Goldman, Oklahoma City, Okla. Application January 18, 1949, Serial No. 70,658

18 Claims.

This invention relates to folding carriers for use in store service and comprehends a structure in which both the carriage and the basket are so constructed and arranged that a plurality of carriage assemblies can be nested or telescoped to provide for storage when not in use.

. In the conventional type of nesting basket it has been found that the nesting operation is not entirely suitable where the basket is of relatively large dimensions. Due to the present method of packaging commodities a customer may quickly make a fewpurchases, the volume of which greatly exceeds the capacity of the modern ta- Dered nestingbasket. The nesting association of the modern'tapered nesting basket carried by the present day store carriage is only partial, so that/when a considerable number of such carriages are arranged with the baskets in nested relation a large portion of valuable store space is needlessly occupied. Obviously, if the size of the nesting baskets i's'increased, the amount of space which would be occupied by carriages would be greatly increased. In the present type self-service store it is important that a maximum amount of space be available for the arrangement and display of the commodities which are on sale and if considerable room is occupied by the service carriages, a relatively smaller amount'of goods may be placed on display and sold. On the other hand it is extremely desirable that baskets of larger size be furnished in stores where larger commodities are on sale, so that a customer will not find his basket overloaded and thus be prevented from making the total anticipated purchases without substantial inconvenience. It has been found that a larger basket may be used on the conventional type nesting carriage if such baskets are so constructed and arranged that they may be shifted, before nesting, from horizontal to vertical position as in so doing the nesting surfaces of the baskets will be relatively small and a more compact association provided. In this manner a substantially greater area of floor space may be saved for the display and sale of goods and a relative increase in profits provided.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a carriage of the general type shown in my prior'application Ser. No. 25,262, filed on May 5, 1948, now abandoned, and in which the basket is mounted for swinging movement from a horizontal to a vertical position, the walls of the baskets being inclined outwardly and upwardly so that when shifted to vertical position on their supporting pivots they will be capable of nested association. e a

p A further object of this invention is to provide a pivoted basket supported on a frame capable of nested association with another frame, the pivoted basket including a brace for preventing the basket from swinging downwardly in one direction below its normal horizontal position, and a lock to prevent the basket from tilting from its horizontal position in the other direction.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a lock which is immediately available below the handle for operation by the customer or the clerk in the store whereby the nesting operation of a plurality of baskets can be formed from a. single position. 7

Other objects of the invention will more clearly hereinafter appear by reference to the accompanying drawings and specification wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation showing a basket carrier assembly and including with the basket car'- rier assembly an illustration of the relation of the carrier when the basket is shifted vertically and associated with another carrier;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view showing the lock assembly;

Fig. 4 shows a modified form in which the single lock prevents movement of the basket on its pivot in either direction;

Fig. 5 is a side view of a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the corner structure of the lower hinged framework;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective view showing the hinged construction of the upper framework;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line 9-9 of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is a top plan view showing the lower portion of the lower framework.

The carriage base frame consists of three horizontally arranged spaced parallel metal members of general U-form indicated by reference characters I, 2 and 3, the closed end of the U being forward and the open end rearward, with the structure tapered toward the front end to permit a nesting association with a second frame structure. The lower frame member 3 terminates substantially forward of the structure as illustrated and the parts I, 2 and 3 of the frame are secured in spaced relation by the vertical straps 4 and 5, these straps being connected by the cross brace 6, which latter carries the swiveled casters 1 in the manner shown in my former application. The connection between the vertical straps 4 and 5 and the horizontal frame members I, 2 and 3 may be by welding or other suitable means. The rear portion of the frame is formed by the oppositely disposed uprights 8, 9 and It, the uprights 8 terminating below the plan of the basket and being provided with vertical slots IE to act as guideways for the pins M carried at the lower end of the hinged braces 15. The upper ends of the hinged braces are pivoted at I55 to the medial horizontal straps il forming a part of the basket construction. Immediately below the baskets, which latter are pivoted at each side at 8 to the upper ends of the strap extremities 9 are the cross straps 29 which are welded to the uprights 8, 9 and Ill at their upper end portions to retain these uprights in their proper relative positions. A further cross strap 2! connects an intermediate portion of the intermediate upright 8 with an intermediate portion of upright is, this cross strap 2! acting as a stop for engaging the upper face of the lock arms 22, shown more clearly in Fig. 3. The lock arms 22 normally extend laterally and are each formed with slots 23 through which the rivets or pins 24 extend, the pins or rivets 2 extending into and being secured to the bottom of the basket shown generally at A. The inner end portions of the arms 22 are pivoted together and to the sliding lock arm 25, this lock arm having the slot 26 extending longitudinally thereof and this slot 26 being enlarged at its inner end at 2H for clearing the guide pin 21 projecting downwardly from the bottom of the basket A. By this arrangement th depending handhold 23 formed at the outer end of the lower arm can readily be grasped for swinging the arms 22 on their pivots as indicated at dotted lines B, Fig. 3, to withdraw the extremities of these arms from engagement with the cross straps 2i and in this position it will be obvious that the basket is free to swing rearwardly and downwardly on its pivots 18. When the basket is swung downwardly and rearwardly on its pivots Hi, the guide pins 14 will travel upwardly in the slots !2 in the uprights 8 to the position shown at I4 this position being at the upper end of the slots [2 and representing the limit of vertical movement of the basket which is approximately a dead center position. After the basket has been returned from its vertical to its horizontal or loading position, the lock arms 22 are projected by rearward movement of the operating slide 25, and these arms 22 will then abut and rest upon the upper faces of the cross stops 2| so that further swinging movement of the basket is prevented by this engagement. The stops 2! are so positioned that when the arms 25 engage their upper surface the basket will have reached its horizontal position. Th downward movement of the forward or outer end of the basket is determined by the pins Hi carried at the lower ends of the angle braces 15, which pins travel in the slots l2 in the uprights 8, the arrangement of the pin and the length of the slots I2 and of the pivoted braces it being such that the pin I l abuts the wall defining the lower end of the slot l2 when the basket is horizontal.

The basket utilized in the present invention may be constructed of wire, metal straps, or other suitable material or a combination of this material, as illustrated in the present and other copending applications. In the present illustration the basket includes U-shaped straps 30 extending transversely and U-shaped straps 31 ex- '4 tending longitudinally, these straps being suitably and uniformly spaced and secured together at the points of intersection of the three outer straps 32, 33 and 35. The handle 35 projectin rearwardly of the basket a suitable distance is 7 formed to provide a proper gripping surface across the entire rear end of the structure. The intermediate horizontal outer strap 33 supports the pivot pin it for the diagonal brace l5 and also the pivot pin I8 upon which the basket is swung from horizontal to vertical position. The bottom strap 34 provides a binder for the bottom edge of th basket. It will be noted that at the front bottom edge of the basket a handle member 3'6 is welded, riveted or otherwise secured to the outer transverse strap, this handle providing means for shifting the basket on its pivots l8 when the basket is loaded to facilitate its movement to a partially inclined position, in which position it may be more convenient to discharge the contents thereof.

In Fig. 4 a slight modification is shown. In this modification an upper strap 22 is provided to act as a stop to prevent the basket from extending forwardly, this strap 222 being arranged above and suitably spaced from the strap 2| so that the extremities of the lock :bars 22 can extend therebetween when it is desired to lock the basket from movement on its pivots.

By the construction shown and described it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that a store service cart has been provided in which the cart frame, including the lower commodity support provided by the members i, 2 and 3, and the basket carried thereby can be readily arranged in nested arrangement so that the minimum amount of floor area will be occupied. 'It will be noted that in the present construction the casters l at the front of the lower frame are set well inward so that during the nesting operation these casters will not interfere with the casters of an associated carrier. It will also be noted from an inspection of the present device that the details of construction of the lock may be modified to accomplish substantially the same results, although in the present instance the design is in tended to :be so located as not tointerfere with the customer who happens to be. utilizing the assembly. The arrangement of the lock is also such that during the nesting operation there will be no interference with any associated parts. This will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 1 in which the nested association of two carriers is indicated in dotted lines. The type of basket which is used in connection with this invention is not particularly important, as some of the baskets used in analogous structures are made of fabricated wire or are fabricated by a combination of wire and metal straps. V

In Fig. 5 the present invention is shown as including a folding carriage for use in shipment and also a telescoping basket arrangement to facilitate the nesting of the carriers when in use and when the baskets are in position. Th folding carriage includes an upright rigid frame in which the rear upright members M and 42 at each side of the frame are spaced in parallel relation and each pair is formed at their lower end portions with aligned openings 43 for the reception of the journals for supporting the wheels M. The upper ends of the inwardly spaced frame members 42 extend above the cross braces 45 and 46 and are then bent outwardly with their end portion 42- flush against the inner faces of the uprights Hv where the end portions 42 are welded to the uprights 4| to provide a rigid main frame structure. Paneling 41 and 48 may be provided between the uprights 42 and between the horizontal braces 45 and 46 to insure a rigid transverse frame structure. This paneling 41 and 48 is formed of sheet metal and is spot welded to the adjacent frame members. Parallel to the main frame members M at each side of the frame are the forwardly spaced vertical frame members 5| which have their upper ends 52 and lower ends 53 bent rearwardly and welded or riveted as at 54 and 54 to the rear frame members 4 l. The parts heretofore described are all rigidly fixed with respect to each other by welding or riveting and constitute the main frame of the present development.

The lower inclined nesting supporting structure is pivoted to the rigid frame and includes the lower frame members 55-55, pivoted at lit to the rearwardly projecting arm portions 53 of the frame members 55, and the upper inclined U-shaped frame member 51 which is pivoted at its rear end portions at 53 to the crossstrap 59 connecting the frame members 4! and 5|. It will be noted that the pivots 58 for the U-shaped frame member 5'! are spaced rearwardly of the pivots 56 of the lower frame member to provide for the required swinging movement of the parts. The lower frame members 55 taper inwardly while the upper frame members taper inwardly and incline downwardly as shown. In Fig. the lower frame members 5555 ar illustrated with their' rear offset portions Hi! to engage the uprights 51-5! and to underlie the upper U-shaped frame 51, which latter is formed with the offset portions Hill to permit pivotal association with the straps 59. Thus is formed the spaced apart side frame structure which inclines forwardly and downwardly for nesting association with a companion structure as in my c-o-pending application Ser. No. 25,262, filed May 5, 1948.

The forward end portions of the lower forward- 1y projecting pivoted arm members 55 are connected by the cross tie 60 through the medium of the angle braces 6! and 62, these angle braces including the vertical body portion 63 positioned inwardly of the frame members 55 and welded thereto. The forward ends of the vertical portions 63 of the angle braces extend upwardly to provide vertically extending ears 64 for receiving the rivets 65 to which the links 66 are pivotally connected at their forward ends. The angle braces also include the inwardly projecting horizontal extensions 61 to which the cross strap 60 is welded and the casters extend through the overlapping portions of the cross strap 60 and the horizontal extensions 81 of the angle brace-s. The links 85 which are pivoted to the vertical extending ears 64 by the pivots B5 are connected at their upper inner ends by the pivots 69 to the upper U-shaped frame member 51, these links being of such a length and being so pivoted that when the U-shaped frame member 5'1 is swung to its lower position against the outwardly projecting stops it formed at the extremities of the forwardly extending pivoted arms 55,'the links are in alignment with the frame 57 or immediately beyond dead center with respect to the side arms 57 of the upper U -shaped frame so that this frame is locked against folding movement until the links are released from their locked relationship with the frame.

. It will be noted that the front wheels are swiveled to permit manipulation of the carriage in any direction while the rear wheels, which are positioned and mounted on pins in the aligned openings 43 between the lower ends of the rigid frame members 4| and 42, only have a forward movement.

For mounting the basket so that it can be swung to horizontal position for nesting when the carriers are to be stacked in a store, I provide a rectangular frame conforming in dimension to the upper marginal dimensions of the basket structures, this frame being indicated as formed of spaced side bars 8| and 82 and. connecting front and rear bars or frame members 83 and 84. The side bars 8| and 82 extend rearwardly and are bent inwardly at Bl and 82 for mounting the handle 85, the latter being of tubular form and being wrapped about the inwardly projecting portions 8 and 82 of the side frames,

SI and 82 andwelded into position as shown. Therear transverse frame member 84 has its ex. tremities bent outwardly and rearwardly for flush engagement with the inner faces of the side frame members 3| and 82, and are welded into position to brace the structure. The basket which is formed with downwardly tapered walls, when in a horizontal position, seats into the frame with its marginal edge 36 overlying the frame structure and resting upon the upper marginal edge thereof. Suitable locks 81 are provided for looking the basket into position, these locks being in the form of U- shaped clips which are formed of leg members 83, the lower extremities 88 of which are welded at spaced points medially of the front and rear of, the basket. The upper end of the U-shaped frame lock is bent inwardly and the structure is inherently suhiciently resilient to maintain the inwardly projecting portion at such a position as to normally extend beneath the frame when the basket is in position. The basket frame is mounted to be swung rearwardly and is supported on the links 89.. The links 89 are pivoted to the upper end portions of the, rear frame uprights 45 by pivots 9?, and have downwardly arranged extensions 89 which engage the stop pins 92 which extend outwardly from the side frame members at suitable points below the pivots 93. Projections at are fixed to the upper frame member below the stops E2 and the pivots 93 and engage the inner faces of the links when the latter are in vertical position to prevent them from being displaced and thus preventing the basket from being undesirably shifted. on its pivots. Forwardly extending angular links 95 support'the forward end of the basket, these links having vertical portions 98 which are-pivoted at their upper ends to the medial portions of the side frame members 8i and 82, while the lower angular portions are pivoted at their lower ends to the forward frame members 5|. The links 95 are constructed and arranged for swinging movement to a position within the transverse plane of the side frame members 35 and 82. The relative lengths of the links 95 and 559 permit a swinging movement .of the frame on its rear pivots 93' to enable the basket supporting frame to be shifted to a vertical position.

It will be noted from the foregoing that the entire weight of the basket, both in loaded and unloaded condition, and the entire weight of the structure itself is directed and supported by the rear frame and upon the rear rollers so that tendency of the lower telescoping tapering sup port to collapse is prevented not only by thearrangement of the links, but by the entire structureitself. p

What I claim is:

1. A store service truck including vertical frame members, a carriage supporting said frame members, a basket pivotally supported on said frame members for movement from horizontal to vertical positions, said basket being formed with downwardly and inwardly tapered side and end walls to permit nesting with a similarly constructed basket, stop means for limiting swinging movement of said basket in one direction after reaching its horizontal position, locking means to prevent movement of the basket in the other direction, and means for operating the locking means including a member slidable beneath the basket.

2. A store service truck including vertical frame members, a carriage supporting said frame members, a basket pivotally supported on said frame members for movement from horizontal to vertical positions, said basket being formed with downwardly and inwardly tapered side and end walls to permit nesting with a similarly constructed basket, stop means for limiting swinging movement of said basket in one direction after reaching its horizontal position, locking means to prevent movement of the basket in the other direction, and means for operating the locking means arranged at the bottom of the basket and including a sliding actuator controlling projecting arms.

3. A store service truck including vertical frame members, a carriage supporting said frame members and including a forwardly tapered supporting frame, said frame being inclined from the horizontal, supporting Wheels at the front of said frame spaced inward from its lateral edges, a basket pivotally supported at its rearward upper portion to the upp r end of said vertical frame members for movement from horizontal to vertical position, said basket being formed with downwardly tapered side and end walls to permit nesting association below its pivotal connection with the frame with a similar basket when moved to an upright position, stop means including a link movable with said basket for limiting the swinging movement of the basket, and lock means to retain the basket in its horizontal position.

4. In a store service truck, a frame comprising a lower platform having a forwardly tapered portion, casters supporting the front end of said platform and spaced inwardly of the side walls, upright frame members extending vertically from each side of the rear portion of the platform, one of the frame members at each side of the platform projecting below said platform and having mounted at their lower ends supporting casters, vertical guide members fixed forwardly of the frame at each side of the platform, said guide members being formed with vertical slots, a basket pivoted at each side to said upright frame members by pins arranged rearward of the longitudinal center of the basket, angular braces pivoted to the forward portion of the side walls of the basket and having guide pins at their lower ends traveling in the slots formed in their guideways, and lock means arranged at the rear portion of the basket and adapted to be projected laterally into engagement with said frame members.

5. The substance of claim 4 characterized in that the slots inthe guideways are so constructed and arranged as to limit the movement of the basket and the pivoted guide members in both directions. 6. The substance of claim 4 characterized in that the lock means comprises a sliding bolt fixed 8, to the bottom of the basket and having laterally projecting arms for engaging the frame, said arms being associated with guide means to retain' them in a plane parallel to the bottom of the basket.

7. The substance of claim 4 characterized in that the upright frame members are connected by a transverse bar, which bar is adapted to be engaged by the lock means to prevent the basket from swinging beyond a predetermined position defined by the arrangement of the cross bar.

8-. The substance of claim 4 characterized in that the vertical frame members are connected by spaced bars, between which the lock means is projected to prevent the basket from moving on its pivot.

9. A store carriage which includes a pair of upright: side frames spaced apart, means sustaining said frames in spaced apart relation, side bars secured to said upright side frames and extending forwardly from the lower portion of same and being forwardly inclinedtowards one another, a connecting member between theforward ends of said. side bars, supporting rollers mounted on said upright side frames, a swinging basket frame pivotally supported rearward of its center at the upper endportions of said upright side frames, a basket having downwardly and inwardly inclined side and end walls secured to said swinging basket frame against lateral and longitudinal displacement and movable with said frame from a horizontal to a vertical position, a link pivotally connecting the forward portion of said swinging frame with one of said side frames, said link being constructed and arranged for swinging movement to a position within the transverse plane of the spaced apart side frames, stop means for the basket frame in. its vertical position, and means for retaining the basket frame in its horizontal position.

10. The substance of claim 9 characterized in that said side bars are pivoted for swinging movement with respect to said frame.

11. The substance of claim 9 characterized in that the side bars are pivoted to the upright frame for swinging movement with respect to the same and means are provided for retaining the side bars in their downward position.

12. The substance of claim 9 characterized in that an additional hinged frame is arranged above said side bars and connected to the same. with pivoted link members.

13. A store carriage which includes a pair of upright side members spaced apart, means sustaining said members in spaced apart relation, side bars pivotally secured to said upright side members at the lower portion of the latter for upward swinging movement and extending forwardly from said side members and being forwardly inclined towards one another, a frame member pivotally supported by said uprights and arranged above said pivoted side bars, the pivotal points of said upper frame being spaced .rearwardly of the pivots of the lower side bars,

links connecting the forward end of said upper ,frame to the forward upper portions of said side bars, said links being so constructed and arranged as to be aligned with the side bars of said upper frame when the latter is in its lowermost position to provide a dead-center locking structure for the parts, and, casters supporting the carriage.

14. The substance of claim 13 characterized in that a basket carrying frame is pivotally supported. by the upper end portions of said uprights,

said basket carrying frame being shiftable from horizontal to a vertical position, and means for locking the basket carrying frame in its horizontal position.

15. A store carriage which includes a pair of upright side members spaced apart, means sustaining said members in spaced apart relation, side bars pivotally secured to said upright side members at the lower portion of the latter for upward swingin movement and extending forwardly from said side members and being forwardly inclined towards one another, a frame member pivotally supported by said uprights and arranged above said pivoted side bars, the pivotal points of said upper frame being spaced rearwardly of the pivots of the lower side members, links connecting the forward end of said upper frame to the forward upper portions of said side bars, said links being so constructed and arranged as to be aligned with the side members of said upper frame when the latter is in its lowermost position to provide a dead-center locking structure for the parts, links pivotally supported at the upper end portions of said uprights, a basket carrying frame pivotally connected to the upper end portions of said links, means for locking said links in their vertical position with respect to said side frames, and a basket supported by said frame having inwardly and downwardly inclined side and end walls to permit nestingwith a similar basket of another carriage when the pivoted carrying frame is shifted to vertical position.

16. The substance of claim 15 characterized in that angular links are provided for supporting the forward portion of said basket carrying frame and are pivotally connected at their end portions to said basket carrying frame and said side frame members.

17. A store service truck including spaced vertical frame members, a carriage supporting said frame members, a basket carrying frame pivotally supported at one side of its longitudinal center to said spaced vertical frame members, a basket fixedly connected to said pivoted frame for movement with said pivoted frame from horizontal to vertical positions, said basket being formed with downwardly and inwardly tapered side and end walls below its point of connection with said pivoted frame to permit nestingwith a similarly constructed basket when moved with its pivoted frame to a vertical position, stop means for limiting swinging movement of the basket in one direction after reaching its vertical position, and means including a link connecting the basket carrying frame and said vertical frame member to prevent movement of the basket in the other direction when the basket is in its horizontal position.

13. A store carriage which includes a pair of upright side members spaced apart, means sustaining said members in spaced apart relation, side bars pivotally secured to said upright side members at the lower portion of the latter for upward swinging movement and extending forwardly from said side members and being forwardly inclined towards one another, a receptacle frame above said side bars pivotally supported by links to said uprights to permit movement of the frame from a horizontal to a vertical position, the pivotal points of said links to said uprights being spaced rearwardly of the pivots of the lower side bars, links connecting the forward end of said frame to the forward upper portions of said upright side members, said links being so constructed and arranged as to be aligned with the upright side members when the frame is in its vertical position to provide a dead-center locking structure for the parts, and casters supporting the carriage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,816,411 Tillinger July 28, 1931 2,147.,881 Schray Dec. 27, 1938 2,212,053 Smith Aug. 20, 1940 2,448,300 Eaddy Aug. 31, 1948 2,479,530 Watson Aug. 16, 1949 

